A measure of family hope

Sudanese refugee, now priest, reunites with family.

Sudanese refugee, now priest, reunites with family.

October 05, 2008|JOHN AGAR The Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS (AP) -- The Rev. Zachariah Char never lost hope he would be reunited with his wife, Tabitha Thon, or hug the 23-month-old son he never met, Kur. But his heart ached. His wife and son lived in a Kenyan refugee camp, where 10 months ago she survived an attack by a nomadic gang. He knew his son only through photos and phone calls. Early on Sept. 21, Char, only the second Sudanese priest in the U.S. Episcopal Church, brought his family home, to Grand Rapids. "I didn't lose hope when the process was very difficult," Char, pastor of Sudanese Grace Episcopal Church in East Grand Rapids, said on the day he reunited with his wife and son. "I knew that God will open the way." Char came to the United States in 2001 with other Lost Boys of Sudan, who trekked 1,000 miles to flee civil war in their homeland. He left Thon at Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp where they both grew up but returned in 2004 to marry her. He visited a couple of years ago. Until recently, they struggled to gain approval from the U.S. State Department for her immigration. Now, she and Kur are in the process of becoming permanent residents. Char traveled to Kenya recently and later returned here with his family -- welcomed at Gerald R. Ford International Airport by 100 people, including friends and people from the church who have helped in recent years. Their arrival brought hope for others, including Deng Reng, who has a wife and son in Kenya, and Michael P. Kuol, who has a wife and daughter there. Reng and Kuol celebrated at Grace Episcopal. But they also talked of extreme frustration and wondered whether they would one day be united with their wives and children. "You have a lot of internal frustration about missing somebody," said Abraham K. Deng, whose wife remains in Kenya. "It makes it difficult." Char understands the frustration. He has friends here with wives in the refugee camp. He met the women while there, the hardest part of his trip. All of the women knew his story and wondered if they would ever be reunited with their husbands here. "I met with 17 husbands' wives. They're asking about America. They want to see what their husbands are doing here. Even some of them, they say, 'Zach? Zach? My husband talks about you.'æ" Even while being exhausted by travel, going to church Sunday morning, and having an apartment filled with friends celebrating that afternoon, Char said he felt complete. Now, he said, he can be a better pastor. He can study -- he's a senior at Kuyper College -- without worrying about his family's safety. It is an abrupt change for his wife, who understands English but speaks little. She hasn't seen snow before but has heard plenty to concern her about the upcoming seasonal change. A sponsor, along with Margaret Burrows-Getz, refugee coordinator at Grace Episcopal, already brought the family winter clothing. Burrows-Getz, who met the family at the airport, said many other separated families hoped to be reunited. Char and Thon provide some measure of hope. "We're just thankful," she said. "We have more work to do, but they're here as a family, and that's pretty wonderful."